SEVEN DAYS OF SNOW

*Chapter 2 - Six Days Left*

Elias didn't drink coffee. He drank tea, black, no sugar. He sat by the window of The Open Book for three hours, watching the snow.

Luna tried not to look at the number above his head. 7 Days had become 6 Days. Time was moving.

"Are you from Harrow?" she asked, shelving books to stay busy.

"No. New York. I came here to finish a book."

"A writer," she smiled. "That's why you came to a bookstore in a blizzard?"

He almost smiled. Stoic, but tender at the edges. "My editor said I needed quiet. Harrow is quiet."

"You picked the right town. We have quiet and snow and more snow."

He looked at her then, really looked. "Why did you let me stay? You were scared when I walked in."

Luna froze. Could he see the number too? No. No one could.

"I wasn't scared," she lied.

"You were. Your hands were shaking."

She poured him more tea to hide her hands. "You looked cold. In Harrow, we don't let people freeze."

Outside, the snow fell harder. The road to the city was already closed. The news on her small radio said no one was leaving Harrow for at least a week.

Six days. The same as his number.

Elias would be stuck here for six days. Six days left to live, stuck in her bookstore, in a snowstorm, with a girl who knew he was going to die and couldn't tell him.

"Luna?" he said, reading her name tag.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for the tea."

She looked above his head. 6 Days Left. Bright. Unchangeable.

"You're welcome, Elias," she whispered, not knowing how she knew his name.